Christmas Eve

24 Dec 2008

Since we were far away from all of our family members we spent Christmas Eve alone this year. It wasn't lonely though - we had fun. We played Wii most of the morning, watched Horton Hears a Who after lunch and then went downtown to see the lights on the Riverwalk before dinner. The lights were actually really neat. We noticed that they weren't as formal and professional looking as the lights at temple square - they had more of a mexican fiesta flare - but they were more enjoyable for three reasons 1) there was a river and that's always peaceful and fun 2) there were less people and more restaurants (we ate at Joe's Crab Shack) and 3) it was 70 degrees instead of 7 degrees. We took Holly with us (of course) and I got lots of comments from the other people there about how little and cute she was. I totally agree. The kids got to open one present when we got home. It was new Christmas pajamas for all!

If you will notice - all of us are in focus in this photo except for Tyler. I had to take the picure without the flash in order to get the lights in the background and so I told everyone to hold really still. We all did, except for Tyler who has to do the opposite of everything we say. Jared says he's just testing limits. I say that he's making a compelling argument for a permanent transfer to the naughty boy farm.

This is a cute little video of Derek and Jared dancing at dinner.

This is Holly and I at the restaurant. I was holding her the whole time I was eating and when we got home she smelled somewhat of coconut shrimp.

Welcome Holly!

28 Dec 2008

Well things are going very well with our new cutie baby. She sleeps almost 23 hours a day and eats every three. I'm having a harder time nursing than I did with Tyler or Derek (very painful) but I'm sure it will get better over the next few weeks. Here are some more photos - I'm sure that the grandmas are especially anxious to see them.

Holly Jolly Christmas

We had a Family Home Evening with the boys about Priesthood Blessings, which ended with everyone getting a blessing from Jared (me). An hour or two after we were done, Suzie announced that she thought tonight was the night she'd deliver. Suzie had a friend from our church drive her to the hospital on base, while I arranged for someone to come stay with the boys. At 3:00 am, 22 Dec, Suzie was dilated to a 5, at 4:00 she was lobbying hard for an epidural, after which she felt a WHOLE lot better...

Around 5:15 am Suzie started getting beat up pretty bad again, despite the epidural, so the anesthesiologist came packing a huge syringe full of something that made everything all right again. Suzie pushed five times, and out squirted Holly Ann Cooper at about 5:40 am. This picture was taken at 0542, as soon as I was relieved from thigh-holding, chord-cutting duty.
Holly's Stats (if I can remember right)
Holly Ann Cooper
Born 22 Dec 2008, 0540
6 lbs, 12 oz, 19"

Enjoy watching an enlisted medical technician suck the cheesy-discharge and mucus off my little girl! The cackling in the background is Suzie's close friend Ashley, who drove her to the hospital and stayed up talking with her all night until after Suzie and the baby were comfortable. Thank you Ashley!

She is without a doubt the most beautiful baby ever, the pinnacle of a heritage of uber-cute babies. Already she is much more cuddly and less punchy-kicky-elbowy than her older brothers. If you hold her close, she instantly mellows out and purrs like a kitten.

Unfortunately, DOD Guidelines for a Healthy Pregnancy (I'm not making this up) stipulate that the mother and baby must remain inpatient for a minimum of 24 hour after delivery, or 48 hours if emergency aftercare might be difficult (e.g. during the holidays). So Suzie and Holly wont make it home until Christmas Eve. So I'm a single father of two boys, while Suzie is an abandoned mother with a new baby in a military hospital.

Can't wait until Christmas!

11 Days to Go!

21 Dec 2008

Pregnancy Update:

Well, no baby yet. On Friday I was having lots of really strong contractions. They weren't close together (about 10 min) but they didn't stop for 8 hours. So, we went to the hospital at about 11:00 p.m. and got checked out. They said that I was only dialated to 1 cm even with all the contractions. They had me walk around for a hour and a half to see if the contractions would get stronger but they didn't and we were really tired so we just came home. (My super nice visiting teacher watched the boys. She has 5 boys of her own - all under 10 - and our kids had a really good time there.) I continued to have contractions all day yesterday and I am still having them this morning. They are pretty regular (still about 10 min apart) and uncomfortable, but not getting stronger.

I'm a little disappointed and a little glad that our baby isn't here yet. I want to have her soon so that I can start feeling better, but I also want Jared to be a little more healed from his eye surgery so that he can drive and take care of the boys. He says that the pain is mostly gone but that the contact "bandages" that he's been wearing since Thurs morning are getting really dirty and irritating. He should be getting the contacts removed tomorrow morning and then hopefully he can start driving again.

Well, we're all here at home together now (no school, no work) until Jan 5th. Tyler is super excited for the candy he's going to get out of the advent calendar on the 25th and Derek is just excited for "PRESENTS!!!" We love you and we will keep you updated.

Love, Suzie

All Tyler Wants For Christmas...

15 Dec 2008

All Tyler wants for Christmas is his two front teeth!! Actually he's only lost one but the other is soon to follow. I'll make sure it's out before Christmas. He got a dollar from the tooth fairy and made me take him to Walmart to buy some candy with it. (I think his plan is to rot the rest of his teeth so that they will fall out too and he can get more money from the tooth fairy.) Anyway, he said a funny thing on the way to the store:

"Mom, I have pure joy in my pocket. MONEY!"

The tooth fairy likes origami.
I don't know why Tyler can't keep his eyes open during pictures. He does it on purpose - he's not just blinking. Oh well, he's cute - normally.

Polygamist Update: This will be the last polygamist update. They officially moved out for good this week. We will miss them. Please, everyone, a moment of silence...

Christmas Family Fun!!!

12 Dec 2008

Today we went to Austin to decorate gingerbread houses and see the Christmas lights display at Zilker Park. The house decorating went well. We had a contest between the Jared/Tyler team and the Joseph/Amanda team. I played support for both sides and helped Derek make some marshmellow snowmen. The Jared/Tyler team won because they were willing to incorporate one of the snowmen into their design. Tyler was really excited to win - his prize was a gingerbread house covered with candy. He was estatic!

Apparently the Zilker Park lights display is rated among the top 10 in the country. Last year when Jared and I visited Austin for the Air Force open house we went to the park and rode on a train that went past all the displays. The lights weren't on (because it was daytime) but it looked like it would be fun to take the kids. This year the event didn't officially start until the 14th so the train wasn't running but most of the lights were up so we decided to go anyway.

The lights were pretty good but not as good as Temple Square. The displays were weird. They had lots of animatronic figures and backdrops that were supposed to put us in the Christmas spirit (I can only assume) but instead made us feel like we were trapped inside the puppet show from that new Willy Wonka movie with Johnny Depp. Take a look at the pictures (and the video) and maybe you'll understand what I mean.

22 Days and Counting

10 Dec 2008

I've been neglecting my blog a lot lately because I'm so uncomfortable and angry that I'm still pregnant. I know, I know, I'm not due for 3 more weeks but it seems like 9 months is really too long anyway. The last few days I've been having contractions evey 7-10 minutes on and off throughout the day and night. Last night I couldn't get to sleep until 3:30 a.m. It's pretty miserable. I remember that it was this same way with Derek too. (Tyler not so much.) Anyway, if tradition holds the baby should be here on Dec 18th (the same day as Jared's eye surgery). If not, who knows when she will come. I hope it's soon though, I'm kind of a baby when it comes to being uncomf.

P.S. I don't like the name Stacy anymore. Now I want to name our baby Holly. It makes me much happier. Sorry to eveyone who thinks of Hollie Palmer when I say Holly. To you I say, just don't think of Hollie Palmer.

I love you all. I hope you like your Christmas presents. Feel free to call anytime (210-592-9563), I'll probably be up.

Suzie

What in the World?!?

3 Dec 2008

Today Derek and I were waiting in line at the HEB when I thought it might be fun to take some pictures (since I haven't been taking many lately). Here are the two that I got. I'm not sure what his hesitation was, but Derek did NOT want to be photographed. Maybe he just needed some time to refresh his hair and makeup.

Maybe he was just embarrassed by the huge bruise on his forehead and his perma-chappy lips (I put chap stick on them but he keeps licking it off).

After I took the pictures of Derek I noticed the romance novels in the rack behind him. I thought that the titles were so awesome that I needed to take pictures of them too....